Any investors hoping to find a Sector - Health fund could think about starting with ProFunds Biotech Ultra Sector Investor (BIPIX Quick QuoteBIPIX - Free Report) . BIPIX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

Objective

The world of Sector - Health funds is an area filled with options, such as BIPIX. Healthcare is one of the biggest sectors of the American economy, and Sector - Health mutual funds provide a great opportunity to invest in this industry. Here, funds can include everything from for-profit hospitals to pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers.

History of Fund/Manager

ProFunds is based in Columbus, OH, and is the manager of BIPIX. The ProFunds Biotech Ultra Sector Investor made its debut in June of 2000 and BIPIX has managed to accumulate roughly $162.56 million in assets, as of the most recently available information. The fund is currently managed by Michael Neches who has been in charge of the fund since October of 2013.

Performance

Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. BIPIX has a 5-year annualized total return of 1.62% and is in the top third among its category peers. If you're interested in shorter time frames, do not dismiss looking at the fund's 3-year annualized total return of 9.71%, which places it in the top third during this time-frame.

When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. BIPIX's standard deviation over the past three years is 30.59% compared to the category average of 24.23%. Looking at the past 5 years, the fund's standard deviation is 32.32% compared to the category average of 22.27%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.52, so it is likely going to be more volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. The fund has produced a negative alpha over the past 5 years of -10.32, which shows that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, BIPIX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.62% compared to the category average of 1.35%. So, BIPIX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $15,000, while there is no minimum for each subsequent investment.

Bottom Line

Overall, ProFunds Biotech Ultra Sector Investor ( BIPIX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, worse downside risk, and higher fees, ProFunds Biotech Ultra Sector Investor ( BIPIX ) looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.

For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Sector - Health, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.